The present invention relates to a fog generator, and particularly to one useful in horticulture for growing plants aeroponically, or conventionally.
The invention is particularly useful in the fog-generator method for growing plants aeroponically (i.e. in air, rather than in soil), such as described in our prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,804. In such a method, the plant roots, and also the shoots and foliage, are subjected to a fog of atomized water, which may include other additives such as fertilizers, fungicides, etc. Utilizing a fog generator has a number of advantages over a water sprayer. Thus, when sprayers are used, they supply water at a relatively high rate so they must be intermittently operated, whereas a fog generator, supplying water at a much lower rate, can be continuously operated. As a result, utilizing a fog generator reduces the possibility of "stress drying" or "salting" of the plants which may occur in sprayer systems during the periods when the sprayers are not operated.